Stop-motion device



July. I, 19.24.

w. s. MILLS ET AL STOP MOTION DEVICE Filed June 20, 1922 5 Sheets-Sheet 1 Jul 1, 1924. 1,499,867

W. S. MILLS ET AL STOP MOTION DEVICE Filed June 20 1922 3 Sheets-Sheet 2- Jul 1', 1924. Y 1,499,867 W. S. MILLS ET AL STQP MOTION DEVICE Filed June 29, .L922 3 Sheets-Sheet 5 mam A 1- Patented July 1, 1924.

WILLIAM S. MILLS AND.HEGTOR E. BISAILIiON, OF BRIDGEPORT, CONNECTICUT.

STOP-MOTION nnvrcn.

Application filed June 20,

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that we, WILLIAM S. Mums and HECTOR E. BIsAILLoN, both citizens of the United States, residing at Bridgeport, inthe county of Fairfield and State of Connecticut, have invented or discovered oer tain new and useful Improvements in Stop- Motion Devices, of which the following is a specification, reference being had therein to the accompanying drawings.

This invention relates to an automatic stop motion device for sewing machines or the like, and which is set into action by a knot or lump in the thread before such knot or lump arrives at a point where it might cause damage, as by causing a breakage of the thread or bending of the needle when such knot or lump reaches the needle of a sewing machine; The present invention relatcs to certain improvements on the stop motion devices coveredby our U. S. Patents No. 1,359,266, dated November16, 1920, No. 1,380,003, dated -May 31, 1921, and No. 1,424,844 dated August 8, 1922, as will hereinafter appear.

The present invention relates more par ticularly to means for controlling the latch lever which is released when the tripping arm is operatedby a lump or kno'tin the thread, as will be presently set forth. The construction of most of the other parts of the present invention are the sameas shown and described in our said patent No.

In the accompanying drawingsFig. 1 is an elevation of the improved stop motion device. Fig. 2 is anend view of the same looking from the left, Fig. 1. Fig. 3 is a plan viewof the improved stop-motion device. Fig. 4 is a detail view of the slitted tripping arm, and Fig. 5 a detail view showing the latch-lever controlling-plate and some co-operating parts.

Referring to the drawings, 12 denotes a bracket or support which may be attached to a Work bench conveniently adjacent to a sewing machine in connection with which the improved stop motion device is to be used, said bracket having an upright 13 and a lug 14 affording bearings fora rock-shaft 15 provided at its forward end, inside of the upright 13, with an arm 16 carrying a plate 19 provided with a curved slot 20 entered by a pin 17 at the, lower end of a latch-lever (18 pivoted near its lower end to said up -right 13 and having a bevelled or rounded 1922. semi No. 569,646;

upper end adapted to be engaged by a finger 21 on a holding latch 22 fixed to a tripping rock-shaft 23 journalled in bearings afforded by the upwardly projecting lugs 24 "at the upper end of the upright 13.

The curved slot 20;is turned down sharply at one end, thus affording a notch 20 which receives the pin 17 when the parts are in working position, said pin being moved downward into said notch, when the parts are being set for the normal operation of the machine, by the co-action'of the curved upper wall of said slot and the momentum of the latch lever by which said .pin iscarried. Thus the manual operation of the rock-shaft 15, in setting the parts for the machine to run,will, by means of the slot ted plate 19 engaged by the pin 17, nove the upper arm of the said latch lever inward beneath and behind the holding finger 21 on the latch 22, thereby setting theparts inthe position which they will occupy whenthe machine isrunning. The notch 20 in which the pm 17 rests when the machine is running, serves. to hold these parts securely in place during theopera'tion'of the machine.

The tripping rockshaft 23, in the form of the invention herein shown, carriesa tripping arm 26 havinga plurality 'of. narrow slits -28 permitting the free passage of the threads but not. of knots or lumps in the threads, as in the construction shown in our Patent No. 1,380,003, hereinbefore referred to, so that said tripping arm will be tripped or moved downwardly slightly when engaged by a knot or lump in a thread; The r slits 28 have Vsha'ped or inwardly tapering open ends 29 which serve 'to facilitate the entrance of tl e threads in said slits, and which also serve, in conjunction with the thread guides 30 and 31, arranged on opposite sides of said tripping arm, to permit the escape of the knots or luinpsfrom the tripping arm when the latter is moved downward in the tripping operation, thereby avoiding breaking the thread bythe machine, which is objectionable,even though the thread has to be broken by the attendant to remove the knot or lump. i

The holding latch 22 is normally held in yielding contact with an adjustable stop-pin 32 tapped in a lug'33 on the upright 13 and held in any desired position of'adjustnient by a lock-nut 34. This holding of the latch 22 against the top of the pin" 321s effectedby the coil spring 35 connected at its upper end to a hooked arm 36 on the rock-shaft 23 and connected at its lower end to a lug 37 on a bracket 38 adjustably attached to the upright 13 by a set screw 39 passing through a slot in said bracket.

The construction and co-relation of the holding latch 22 with its finger 21, for engaging the latch lever 18, the spring 35 and its connection with the rock-shaft 23, by which the latch 22 is carried, are the same as in the machine of our Patent No. 1,424,844, hereinbefore referred to, these parts being'clearly shown in Fig. 4 of the drawings of said patent.

The rockshaft 15 is provided at its rear end with an arm 44 formed integral with the setting handle 45 which is attached to said rockshaft by a set screw 46. The arm 44 carries a pin 47 to which is jointed the lower end of a link 40 jointed at its upper end to a lever 48 pivotally mounted in a yoke 49 having a threaded shank 50 which is tapped in a lug 51 on a plate 52 which is to be attached to the sewing machine table or work bench beneath the driving or power shaft 53 of the sewing machine, said power shaft carrying a fly-wheel 54. 'The yoke 49 is held in any desired position of adjustment by a lock nut 56 on the threaded shank 50 of the said yoke. Pivotally mounted on the short arm of the lever 48 is a brake shoe 57 of usual construction, which is arranged closely adjacent to the fly wheel 54 so that when the latch lever '18 is released from the finger 21 on the holding latch 22 the rockshaft 15 will be turned by the torsional coil spring 58 thereon, thus causa ing the lever 48 to be operated to force the brake shoe into contact with the fly-wheel by the stress of said torsional spring, and thereby stopping the machine. The driving or power shaft 53 is driven by a light belt running over the grooved pulley 55, an the stress of the spring 58 is sufficient to overcome the frictional hold of said belt on said pulley so that the belt, which in practice is run rather loose, will slip on the pulley 55 when the machine is stopped The torsional spring 58 is connected at one end to the upright 14 and is connected at its other end to a collar 15 attached to the rockshaft 15. This collar, when its holding set screw is loosened, may be turned on the shaft 15 to give the spring 58 any desired stress or tension.

In the operation of this device when a knot or lump in the thread engages the slitted tripping arm 26 the said tripping arm will be moved to the left looking at Fig. 2, thus also lifting the holding latch 22, connected with the said tripping arm through the tripping rock-shaft 23, slightly, so as to release the finger 21 on the said holding latch 22 from the latch-lever 19, permitting the torsional spring 58 to turn the rockshaft 15 to force the brake shoe into contact with the fly-wheel to stop. the machine. The outward movement of the latch lever 18 when released from the finger 21, as also the movement of the rockshaft 23, is limited and positively controlled b the engagement of the walls of the curve slot 20 with the pin 17 on the short arm of said latch lever.

While we have shown our invention as being applied to a brake stop-motion device by which the motion of the power shaft 53 may be arrested by friction applied to the wheel 54 on said shaft, we wish it to be understood that the invention is also applicable to other equivalent forms of stopinotion devices such, for example, as throwout clutches, as it is obvious that the storedup power in the more or less compressed torsional spring 58 may be'utilized to disconnect clutch parts when the holding latch 22 is disengaged from the latch-lever 18 by the operation of the tripping rock-shaft 23 through the tripping arm 26 carried by said rockshaft. It will also be obvious that the invention may be applied for use in connection with other machines than sewing machines, as for example, with embroidering machines and knitting machines.

Having thus described our invention, we claim and desire to secure by Letters Patcnt:

1. In a stop-motion device, the combination with a power shaft and a machine to be driven from said shaft, of aspring-actuated rock-shaft having an arm provided with a curved slot, a latch-lever having a pin entering said slot, the walls of said curved slot, in co-o-peration with said pin, positively moving and controlling said latch-lever, holding means engaging said latch lever, and tripping means comprising a tripping arm operable to release said holding means from said latch lever whereby, when said latch-lever is released the stored-up power in the spring which actuates said rock-shaft may be utilized to stop the machine driven from said power shaft.

.2. In a stop-motion device for sewing machines, the combination with a power shaft provided with a wheel, of a brake adapted to be engaged with said wheel, a spring-actuated rockshaft connected with said brake to operate the same, an arm attached to said rockshaft, a part carried by said arm and having a curved slot, a latch-lever provided with a pin entering said slot, said slotted part, in co-operation with said pin, positively moving and controlling said latch-lever, holding means engaging said latch-lever, and tripping means, operated by a lump or knot in the thread, for releasing said holding means, thereby permitting said rockshaft to be actuated to apply said brake to said wheel to stop the mchine.

3. In a stop-motion device, the combination with a power shaft provided with a wheel to which a brake may be applied, of a tripping mechanism comprising a springactuated rock-shaft connected with said brake to operate the same, an arm attached to said rockshaft, a part carried by said arm and having a curved slot, 21 latch-lever provided with a pin entering said slot, the walls of said curved slot, 1n co-operation with said pin, positively movin and controlling said latch lever, a setting handle attached to said rock-shaft having an arm, a bracket supporting said rock-shaft, a

' brake lever, a brake device carried by said brake lever and arranged to act on said wheel, a link connecting said brake lever With said arm, a spring-held tripping rockshaft carrying a holding latch having a finger normally engaging said latch-lever and serving to hold the stop-motion device inactive, a tripping arm carried by said tripping rock-shaft and provided with a narrow slit permitting free passage of a thread, but adapted to be tripped by a knot or lump in the thread to release said latch from said latch-lever and thus render the stop-motion device operative to apply said brake device to said wheel on said power shaft to stop the machine.

4:. in a stop-motion device, the combination with a power shaft and a machine to be driven' from said shaft, of a springactuated rock-shaft having an arm provided with a curved slot having a notch at one end, a latch-lever having a pin entering said slot and resting insaid notch when the parts are set for the machine to run, the walls of said curved slot, in cooperation with said pin, positively moving and controlling said latch-lever, holding means engaging said latch lever, and tripping means comprising a tripping arm operable to release said holding means from said latch lever; whereby, when said latchlever is released the stored-up power in the sprin which actuates said rock-shaft may be utilized to stop the machine driven from said power shaft.

In testimony whereof we afiix our signatures.

WILLIAM s. MILLS. HECTOR E. BISAILLON. 

